200,000 page views

Sometime today, this blog will hit 200,000 page views. I started it in the fall of 2009 as a way of making myself stay abreast of what was happening with the Russian military. I certainly didn’t expect that the topic would be of interest to a large audience, given that Russia and the FSU seemed to be becoming less and less significant to US military planners.  So needless to say, I’ve been quite gratified by the interest in the topic in general and in my commentary in particular. I just wanted to say a quick thank you to every one who has read,  commented, and/or shared my blog. While I started the blog without the expectation of a large readership, I’m not sure it would have lasted this long without the interest and especially the feedback.

 

 

A question on Soviet military history from a reader

I received the following question from a reader:

Just a brief question, sir. With regard to Soviet Airborne/Air Assault troops during the Soviet war in Afghanistan; because they were armored vehicle operators (mechanic-drivers, operator-gunners) – but paratroops first, did VDV AFV crew members of BMD’s, BMP’s, T-62’s and the like participate in dismounted Air Assault operations, or were they pretty much restricted to operating the AFV? I’ve read that they wore a black uniform, rather than the beige Afghan style infantry wore, with a diamond tanker patch over the right shirt pocket, hardly camouflaged gear for the Afghan terrain. Thank you very much for any response given.

Soviet military history is not something I know very much about, but I figure there’s at least a decent chance that one of my readers might know something about this topic. If you can answer this question, please comment or send me an email.